A Gang And A Family
by Venquine1990
Summary: Sly is gone and Carmelita has a discovery for herself that will change everything and make her take a very important decision. Will it really be for the best? And what does this discovery have to do with finding Sly? Will it actually help? Or is it up to the last of the Coopers to save himself? And if so, will he pass the tests? Find out in A Gang And a Family.
1. Carmelita's Decision

**_Hey everyone,  
_****_Yes, I chose Plan #3 to be the first that I turn into an official story and after some working and twerking, did I manage a way to come true to my statement regarding Sly's method of returning to Carmelita before the baby's born – though it did go a little quicker than I had planned, but I still very much like it.  
_****_This story will be divided into three chapters with the first being mostly what you have read in the Story Plan plus some extra, the second taking place a few more months into Carmelita's pregnancy and how she and Sly get back together and the last will be in the Point of View of their child, eight years after the return of Sly to Paris.  
_****_Okay, enjoy,_**

**_Venquine1990_**

* * *

**Carmelita's POV**

I just can't believe what is happening here. Last night my life was at stake and I was almost send on an endless journey through time and now my boss – the overconfident brown and white furred badger that was my mentor before I became an official Inspector for Interpol – is taking credit of my capture of Cyrille Le Paradox.  
The sad thing is that I am used to it and so I lamely congratulate the smoking badger, take some insults thrown at my back from my fellow inspectors – what else is new? – and leave for my office. I sigh upon arrival, wondering why I'm still here and open my office door, only to get shocked at seeing who's already there.

One caramel colored female fox with orange-brown fur going from her face, down her neck to her hips and one dark brown male fox with beige-brown fur growing over the same parts of his skin. My parents are standing next to my desk, my mother holding a cake box and my father holding a scrapbook and I ask:  
"Mum, dad? What – what are you doing here?" And dad laughs, his warm tone actually making me feel loved instead of made fun off, and he says: "What are we doing here? Celebrating that you caught your 400th criminal, of course? I even have a scrapbook here with newspaper articles of all your arrests. All 400 of them!"  
This makes me smile and blush, finally again feeling as if my work as Interpol Inspector is being appreciated – even if it's done by people who no longer work for Interpol – when a rich voice with strong high-class accent sounds from behind me, shocking me as the person asks: "I'm sorry. Did you just say four-hundred arrests?"

And looking behind me I see that I left the door open and see a black poodle with white suit on standing in my doorway. Recognizing the man as one of Chief Barkley's superiors, I hear dad say: "Yes, my fine sir. Yes, I did. My little girl Carmelita here has officially caught 400 criminals in less than 4 ½ years."  
The poodle seems shocked and asks: "You mean she has more targets than Sly Cooper?" And while I feel terrible and underworked yet again by my own superior, does my mother angrily answer: "Of course she does! What do you think she's doing in the months that Cooper plans his next heist? Picking her nose?"  
I smile at my mum, happy with how she can stand up for me better than I can and the Poodle turns red, as he say: "Good point." My smile widens as I realize that the lies Barkley told his superiors are now laid bare thanks to my parents and the man asks: "Am I right to assume that you were involved in the capture of Cyrille Le Paradox?"

I nod and dad opens the scrapbook at the final page as he says: "Capture number four-hundred!" And I see a black-and-white picture of myself leading a drenched, hand-cuffed skunk into a police-car. Amazed at how quickly my dad has been able obtain that article, paste it into the scrapbook and come here, I hear the Poodle asking:  
"And where was officer Barkley?" And I angrily answer: "In bed, scheming about how he can take credit out of my arrests." The Poodle's fur bristles – just like mine did the first ten captures I tried bringing in – and then the gruff voice of Officer Barkley is heard – shock clearly evident in the tone – as he asks:  
"Superior Ruffiose, what are you doing here?" And the Poodle answers: "Learning about your disrespectful behavior to your fellow Inspectors, apparently." Shocking the Badger. I personally look from my boss to my parents and send them an apologizing glance before turning back to the Badger and with determination, I say:  
"Didn't see this coming, did you? When you started taking credits for my arrests." The Badger's shock seems to wear off and get replaced by anger, but before he can start his usual tirade and before I can lose the determination and self-confidence I usually only have when chasing Sly Cooper, do I continue and say:

"I came to work for Interpol to arrest criminals, not to do your dirty work and get threatened with suspension every three weeks. You might have promoted me to catch Sly Cooper, but that gives you no reason to take credit for all my other hard work. And your behavior isn't even the biggest of my problems here!"  
At this the badger sends a very concerned at his superior, while my parents also look at each other in great worry, something I have been trying to prevent them from feeling for the longest time, but that I feel is not the issue I should be solving right now as I let each and every humiliating memory surface up inside me as I say:

"Ever since I came to work here have you been allowing for other officers, some of them ranked higher than me some of them actual newby rookies, to commit all kinds of humiliating and degrading acts, just to break my spirit and make me one of your – and don't think I don't know the term – bottom left playgirls."  
The badger turns white under his fur at hearing these words and I snarl: "Yes, I know all about it. One of the only good things of you constantly ordering me to chase Cooper is that he actually inspired me to do something you – if you had the chance – would have forbidden me from doing, namely to develop new skills."

At this, while it pains me as I still have no idea where the handsome raccoon can be, do I bring up every memory of my time chasing Cooper and say: "Cooper may be a criminal, but he's also the cause that we got to put the Fiendish five, members of the Claw Gang, Octavio, General Tsao and Le Paradox and his henchmen behind bars.  
He helped us capture more criminals in the last several years than Interpol ever did in the three decades before that and yes, I checked. And to make matters even worse is he supposed to be the criminal, but does he – at the same time – treat me with more respect, more care and more loyalty than even you ever did!  
And you were my bloody mentor!" I shout at the end, my fury at the badger and pain at losing the Ringtail mixing and with that fueling both emotions to a point where I can barely breath and while trying to keep most of my temper in check, do I glare at the badger one last time and hiss in a furious rage: "I quit."

At this the badger, that had been glancing at his superior in rising fear the longer I ranted, actually falls back in shock and while I know that this shocked his superior, do I only huff at the weak-willed creature and walk past him, keeping my nose in the air and proving to all those who see me that I am done taking their crap.  
Then one of the men in the last stall to the elevator tries to break that by slapping me on the rear end, but before he can even draw back his hand, have I drawn my shock-pistol and aimed it at him, glaring as if he were Cooper minutes after I found out he had gone behind my back as I hiss: "Care to try that again, Jaggerby?"  
The Otter looks at me with shocked fear and then a rough voice speaks and says: "He better not if he doesn't want to get a lawsuit on his ass." And when I look beside me, do I see my daddy actually glaring at the water mammal, his glare alone proving that he too saw the action taken by my now ex-coworker.

At this I lower my shock-pistol and ask: "Can I keep this, daddy?" The man nods and asks: "Do you have plans for it, little gem?" At this I look again at the weapon, the only thing I am really seeing in it being all the times I have used it in the weeks Sly and I were traveling through time in order to save his ancestors and I say:  
"Yes, big ones even.""Then it is yours to keep." A male voice that sounds both angry and sophisticated speaks and behind my parents, do I see Superior Ruffiose standing there, the anger in his eyes very clear though he tries his best to hide it from his stance as he says: "But I would like to have your badge though, Mss. Fox."  
I nod and take the damned thing off my choker, already feeling ready to replace it with a Cooper Symbol badge and feeling determined to make one myself were Bentley or Murray not to have one on hand and I say: "I know I'm handing in my badge, but I assure you, Superior Ruffiose, this isn't the last you will see of me."

And while leaving a shocked and confused group of Interpol officers, a humored poodle and a set of proud parents in my wake, do I know exactly where I will be heading next as I leave the Interpol Headquarters building, turn the corner and press the button on my ear-communicator as I ask: "Bentley, are you there?"  
"Carmelita? What's wrong? Did you find Sly?" But while the question pains me, do I shake my head and whisper: "No, I didn't. I – I quit my job.""You WHAT?" The turtle yells and I cringe at hearing this, hoping no one else heard it as I whisper: "Can you tell me the address of your hideout so I can come over and explain?"

And to my relief does the Turtle agree, telling me the address very quietly before I whisper back at him that I will be on my way. I then head for my car, only to find my parents heading for theirs. Knowing I must have worried them with the hints I gave off, do I run for them and ask: "Is it wrong if I invite myself for dinner?"  
Making the two laugh and nod at me, my mum hugging me tightly and my dad hitting me softly on my shoulder with great pride before they both get into their car and I get into mine, only to be stopped by a brown, spotless cougar with beige patches over his sea-blue eyes, who runs out of the building shouting my name.  
Looking up in confusion at the young man that was my best friend in college, but that I was kept apart from for most of my time as an Interpol Inspector, do I ask: "Jason, what's wrong?""Why are you resigning? I just heard the news and – and I didn't want to believe it, but – but then I saw Superior Ruffiose with your badge and –."  
At this I sigh and say: "Look Jay, I need to explain the situation to two other forces first and – even with all that we did at College – are they just more important to me. That and I don't want to spend another minute in there or near it, if I can, so please be patient and I promise to contact you with the explanation soon, okay?"

The cougar nods, his eyes sad and hurt and I give him a little salute, making the sad face gain a happy smile before I get into my car and drive over to where Bentley told me the address was – finally allowing myself to lie one of my hands on my belly that has – shockingly enough – yet to be showing any signs of my growing child.  
Yes, I, Carmelita Montoya Fox, am pregnant and not just pregnant, but pregnant of a man that is currently so far out of my life I don't even know how to try and find him. Sly Cooper and I, after some sweet advances at each other over the months he faked amnesia, ended up between the covers – and that had consequences.  
Not just did it make me pregnant of child, it also made me take another look at all the time I had spend alongside Cooper, whether as his catcher or as his partner and that had been the first time I had realized that Sly might not have amnesia at all and that, if he did, it didn't do anything to lessen his thieving needs and urges.

It had been a painful realization and the first of many that followed during the period of the last few months, yet it had been the fact that Sly didn't even trust me enough to be honest about his obvious needs with me that had kept my anger up – simply because it made me fear what kind of father the man would be.  
It had also kept me from telling him, not that Bentley gave us much time as the turtle was obviously adamant to get to the bottom the whole mess and to get the canes where they belonged, yet now that my ringtail is stuck in a time period without me knowing where, do I wish more than before that I had taken any and every chance I had gotten.  
Because even without Bentley's persistence and his constant motivation of us having to do things quick, get things done and see to it that we got the canes back and took out the bad guys, had we still had some hours of time between missions where I could have easily taken the Raccoon apart and told him the news.

Thinking back on this makes me remember the many nights during our trip – especially the ones in Medieval England and Ancient Arabia – where I had wanted to cuddle up with the father of my unborn child, but where my need to get back to Paris and talk things out had made me decide not to even show Sly how I wanted this.  
Now, as I ride in my car onto the one place I have been wanting to find for the longest of times, ever since I first met Sly and realized he was a criminal with a gang, do I feel absolutely awful as my desire to have him open the door for me is crushed by the knowledge that he could be swirling through an endless time vortex.  
The trip itself barely even takes that long, only part of me feeling surprised and slightly offended at the fact that Sly's hideout is only three streets away from Interpol Headquarters, yet the thought process I had throughout my trip has worked sufficiently to take away all of my previous anger and replace it with heartfelt pain.

I park my car, making sure not to park it too close to where the Hideout actually is as I don't want to give anyone recognizing me any suspicions as to where I could be going and then, while making sure that the street is deserted, do I sneak over to the hideout's front door, my time with Cooper having improved my sneaking skills.  
I knock in a way to make sure Bentley is assured that it's me, the turtle being quick with letting me in before he rounds on me and asks: "What do you mean, you quit? Why quit? Why now?" And while his angry shocked tone hurts, do I try to keep my strength as I ask: "Could you at least allow me to sit before you interrogate me?"  
The turtle cringes, realizing his mistake and Murray wraps a worried arm around my shoulder as he leads me over to a blue couch, where he sits beside me as he asks: "Why quit, Carmelita? We could have used your links at Interpol to find Sly." And while I know that the Hippo is right, do I shake my head and say:  
"I'm sorry, guys, Bentley, Murray, but – but I couldn't stay there a moment longer. Sly – his presence at Interpol for the last few months actually made it bearable there for the first time since my promotion on the first day we met and – and to know that he was gone and – and that the chief had gone back to his old ways –."

At this I stop, feeling all of the anger I had felt at the office be completely out of my grasp and feeling only the despair over what will happen to my unborn child now that Sly is actually unable to ever care for it with me again, while Bentley and Murray share a shocked and confused look before the turtle asks: "What old ways?"  
And Murray, his childish, deep tone sounding like that of an older brother, asks me: "Carmelita, what happened at Interpol? What have you been through?" I look from Bentley, who looks sincerely frightened for me, to Murray, who looks as if he just wants to hug all of my worries and problems away and sigh as I say:

"Ever since Coo – Sly helped me catch Pierre, has Barkley shown me his true colors. Yes, he was my mentor and yes, he taught me everything I knew until that point, having raised me with the belief that there were only citizens, criminals and Interpol, but he never _really _wanted to give me the promotion he boasted about that day.  
It was just that he boasted about to Mss. Tuskinany and that she was there when Pierre was caught, making him look like a fool and a liar if he didn't promote me, but ever since then – has Barkley done everything possible by him, his kind and his men – to break me." I whisper in the end, my head down and my hands clasped together.  
I know this makes Bentley and Murray share a worried look and then Murray asks: "Carmelita, is – is that why you were always so driven to catch Sly? Because Barkley was driving you up the wall and you wanted to prove him wrong?" But I shake my head, having realized a while ago that this was not the reason and say:

"No, I – I – part of me actually – well – it, it reveled in the fact that I never caught the Ringtail. It – reveled in the idea that there would be another day where Sly would catch my interest and where his schemes and tricks would push me to my limits, make me develop new techniques and allow me what Interpol tried to stop me from doing."  
Another worried glance is shared over my downtrodden head and I mutter, more to myself than to anyone else: "Develop myself. Interpol, Barkley and his men have been trying to prevent me from any and every angle possible to develop myself. Barkley always took credit for my arrests and the others – the, the other agents –."

By now Murray has actually pulled Bentley out of his mechanic wheelchair and helped the crippled turtle sit next to me, making said turtle lie a worried hand on my knee as memories of everything the other agents, especially the male ones, have been doing to make me into what Barkley saw me as roll through my mind.  
I take a deep breath and ask: "Have either of you ever heard of the term _bottom left girl is fun girl_?" The two shake their heads and I sigh as I say: "I – I didn't think you would. It's a term we use during the annual Photo Day where they divide the male from female officers and judge the males on their captures and the females –."  
At this I halt my explanation and Murray asks me worriedly: "On their looks?" I nod and whisper: "In the worst ways." Both are now holding me tightly, wanting to offer me comfort, while they are obviously confused and worried and while feeling that – if they can care, so can my parents – do I continue and say:

"The term refers to the girl that is chosen to stand on the bottom left row of the picture day. This girl is then considered the least interesting and – well – the last person any male officers would ever wish to have a relationship with. And I've been the target of that kind of behavior for the last four years I have been working there."  
At this, while my voice had lowered more and more the longer I took to finish the last sentence, does Murray almost hug the oxygen out of me and while giving him a hug back to thank him for his support, does Bentley tentatively ask: "Does this – _behavior,_ as you call it – come with any consequences, Carmelita?"  
I nod and say: "Just three weeks before Sly stole the map from my office, did I discover something, something I attempted to put an end to through the mercenary apes as I had hoped to gain their trust and respect and have them go against this part of the system. When I realized they just feared me, did I decide to change things up."  
"How?" Murray asks me, his confusion clear on his big face and while feeling terrible as I have no doubt the two beside me will now consider me a hypocrite after hearing this, do I whisper: "I lied – to Sly." The two look at each other, their shock proven in both their eyes and the way they tensed when they heard me and I say:

"I – I know it was wrong and – and I know I shouldn't have stayed mad at Sly for as long as I had and – and that I should have taken the first chance we had in the Wild West to talk things out, but – but on the day that Sly went for that museum heist – on the day your journey started – did I discover something beyond worrisome."  
The two look shocked, worried and confused and I whisper: "I'm pregnant." The words barely loud enough I can hear them, but apparently still loud enough for the Hippo and Turtle to hear them as their eyes turn wider than ever before as they look at me, Bentley's glasses even falling sideways off his face due to his shock.  
I nod at the two and say: "On the day of the museum heist, did I suddenly realize I was three days past my period and by that time had I already started seeing signs that Sly was either faking the amnesia or just getting back to his old tricks regardless of his ailment and that scared me, because it made me wonder about his abilities as a father.

To then see him go behind my back to do something he knows I couldn't stand at that time –." At this I shake my head and Bentley seems to understand as he says: "It just looked like the confirmations of your worst fears, didn't it?" And while grateful for the understanding of the turtle, do I nod at him with tearful eyes.  
Murray sees this and hugs me tightly whispering: "You're always welcome here, Carmelita. And we'll make sure Sly gets here before the baby's born, you can bet on that. The Murray will absolutely make sure of that. Justice and a good life will come to this here little baby Cooper." And just that nickname makes me smile.

_**Sometime later**_

It's been about a month since my retirement and while it had taken me a whole lot of time to explain everything that happened in the last few years to my parents, from the first day I met Sly to my fight with Le Paradox and my feelings for the Ringtail, had both my parents offered their services to Bentley and Murray right after that.  
The turtle and Hippo had been shocked that the two hadn't been against their law-abiding daughter quitting her job to join a pack of criminals, but daddy had told them that, because they had taken better care of me in 3 months than all of Interpol in over 5 years, he didn't care if they were a bunch of lunatic murderers or something.

I had definitely been relieved, happy and embarrassed at that point and daddy had hugged me as he added: "I know you will take good care of my little girl and the only thing I really want is to see a wedding band around her finger before that little baby Cooper-Fox gets born into this world. Is that too much to ask?"  
Which made Bentley work even harder to find Sly and made me go even rougher on any and every criminal I could get my hands on, regardless of the fact that I was no longer an Inspector. Cause while it may have been Bentley that got all of Penelope's postcards, did I know the little mouse was out there as well as he did.  
Having no doubt that the little rat was planning something to keep us from finding Sly had made me all the more determined to find anyone who could give me a proper lead to the rat's nest, yet none of the petty thieves and criminals I have been able to capture in the time since have been able to give me what I desire.

By now, I know I have to stop hunting as harshly as I am as I am not just gaining the attention of Barkley and his men – making sure to leave my own little Cooper Trademark with every criminal I catch and leave behind for Interpol to arrest – I am also finally starting to show that I am indeed now four months pregnant.  
The showing had definitely been a shock to me as I had woken up to a sore stomach one morning about two weeks ago and looking down, had I realized that I couldn't have gained weight as I had only felt like eating a salad the night before and that had still made me go to the ladies room a good hour later.  
The sight that there was actually a bum where my baby was growing had shocked me and brought it home to me yet again that I was expecting the next Heir to the Cooper Line and in my shocked daze had I done the only thing I could do, I had grabbed my camera, made sure I was somewhere I could see myself and had taken a picture.

Bentley, Murray and my parents had noticed it on that same day as I had visited all three of them after taking the picture and waking from my daze and the first two had actually thrown a party for me, my parents and their whole gang to celebrate how there really was a new Cooper on the way, everyone crowding around my pregnant belly.  
It had been a magical and amazing day and while it still brings tears to my eyes as I had constantly wished that Sly had been there to celebrate with us, had the party and the evidence of my pregnancy done the impossible; it had spurred Bentley on even more in his attempts to find Sly and to work on any small hint he could find.

By now, I am back in the hideout, watching the turtle work and hating how I haven't taken any actions outside to help either him or Murray for the last three days before I decide to quench some of my curiosity and ask: "Bentley, does Sly have a training room somewhere around here?" The turtle hums and says:  
"Build him a Hazard Room to prepare for the Cooper Vault Job. Should still be there, regardless of how she and I changed the place after the Job ended. Probably down on the left in the basement, just make sure you don't stress yourself." And while he keeps checking this latest hint he found somewhere, do I nod and leave.  
Heading for said Hazard Room am I amazed and slightly confused when I find a heavily metal-based room with several switches turned up against the left wall and a large room that is obviously meant as an observation deck build into the higher front part of the left room, which is actually stationed right above the entrance door.

Then Murray enters the room and asks: "Carm, what are you doing here?" And while I wish that it was Sly giving me that nickname, do I answer regardless and say: "I can't go out catching criminals anymore and I can't go anywhere Interpol will see me now that I am growing my baby bum, but I want to keep in shape."  
The Hippo nods and says: "I'll put the room on one of Sly's less dangerous trainings then." And he activates one of the first switches that has a raccoon face painted onto it, making a whole set of wooden boxes, metal pins and strings and beams of laser light all come down from the ceiling above, shocking me as I see this.  
I take a look at the training room that has suddenly changed before my eyes and think: "Time to start." Focusing on the moves that always calmed me down – and that I have been using to catch bad guys more and more this month – do I focus and take a jump, protecting my belly with my arms and legs as I do so.  
Making several more moves like that, can I almost feel the child inside me respond in happiness and when I have reached the top of the tower that Murray brought out for me, do I lean my legs over the side and turn my face up, knowing there is only a metal ceiling above me, yet feeling warmed by the lamp lights nonetheless.

I stay like that for several minutes, one of my hands instinctively going up to be placed over my growing belly, if only to softly pet that which I cannot yet touch and this motion – like so many times this month – calms the rest of my anxious nerves, making me feel focused and back in control of my own form and body yet again.  
I smile at this feeling, but then suddenly – as my hand goes over the child within me yet again – do I see something in my mind's eye, something fleeting and barely visible, but still sharp enough it makes me draw in a sharp breath of shock and makes me need to stabilize myself with my arms before my shock throws me off the tower.  
Amazed by what I saw through my mind's eye, do I take a few deep breaths to calm down my shocked nerve system and then slowly move down to where Murray is waiting, his worried eyes proving he saw my shock occurring and his voice timid as he asks: "Are you okay? What happened up there?"

But I shake my head and say: "Let's find Bentley first. I – I'm not even sure what I saw really happened." The Hippo nods and with a worried arm around my shoulders, does he lead me back upstairs, to where Bentley is still behind his computer, one screen showing his search for Sly, another his search for Penelope.  
The turtle looks at the screen intently as he types away on his dashboard, but he seems easily distracted as he notices it at once that we have reentered the room and says: "That was quick." To which Murray motions him away from his computer and over to the couch, sitting me beside him as he does so.  
Bentley rolls his wheelchair over and Murray says: "The Murray installed one of Sly's less dangerous challenges for Carmelita and she was doing great, jumping, climbing, running, everything and constantly using her arms and legs to protect little baby Cooper." The pet name again makes me smile as Bentley nods and Murray says:  
"The Murray, of course, watched over her, but she reached the top of the tower no problem and then, just when I was sure she would be safe up there, seeing the look I saw on her face, did she seem shocked by something and she instantly came back down." At this the Turtle and Hippo look at me worriedly and I whisper: "

"I saw him."

Those three words saying everything and making the two creatures next to me tense in shock as I again lie the same hand over my baby bump and say: "I – I don't know how or – or why, but – but when I was up there, feeling safe and warm and assured of myself and – and with my hand over my little one, did – did I see a vision."  
The turtle now uses his own mechanical installed arms to pull himself out of the wheelchair and sits down next to me as he asks: "Did you see anything but Sly? Anything – specific?" But I shake my head and say: "It was just a second-long vision, Bentley. All I saw was Sly and – and something I have never seen before."  
The turtle sighs and nods as he asks: "Did you see anything particular about the landscape he was in?" At this I put my other hand – the one not holding my child – onto my forehead and close my eyes, trying with all that I can to recall the vision, but feeling as if the harder I try the further away the vision buries itself in my mind.

I groan at this and shake my head as I say: "I can't recall a thing, Bentley. It's – it's as if the vision is tormenting me. The harder I try to remember the further the vision slips from my mind." The Turtle nods and I close my eyes a second time, lying my head back and using the hand no longer on my head to rub my belly.  
Then suddenly, with a jolt of shock, do I see the same thing happen again before my closed eyes and instantly I jump up and shout: "EGYPT!" Scaring the turtle and hippo into screaming alongside me before I shout: "Egypt! Sly's in Egypt! He's in – in ancient Egypt, but – but I – I have never seen a town like that before!"  
Bentley and Murray look at each other in shock before they look back at me and while his glasses are made of very thick glass, do I still see Bentley's eyes widen behind them as he says: "The baby." Making me look down and realize with wide eyes that, while I jumped up, I had kept my hand on top of my pregnant belly.

"The baby is connected to Sly. The baby is creating a mental bond between Sly and Carmelita. The baby is responding to their bond and allowing Carmelita to see where Sly is. THE BABY IS HELPING US FIND HIM!" Bentley shouts in the end and Murray shouts back: "THAT'S IT, BABY COOPER! FIND YOUR PAPA!"  
And then, as if my little one can actually hear the words and recognize them as an order, do I again feel my mind's eye activate within me, showing me a sight I have never seen before and making me feel as I am not looking through my own eyes, but through those of the one I never thought to be able to see again.  
Seeing through Sly's eyes as he walks through the ancient mud and straw made village – that amazingly enough has a bit of gold stuck to at least one part of every house and stall – do I feel amazed at seeing blue, white and black sparkles glitter all over certain parts of the village, such as wooden poles and stocked spears.

The raccoon through whose eyes I gaze seems not fazed with these weird sights whatsoever and actually seems to gather confidence from seeing them, making me wonder if those sparkles are some kind of part of his skills as a Master Thief, if those sparkles are by any chance an indicator for him as to where he can perform his stunts.  
Yet the raccoon seems not to care for the gold in the town, how friendly the villagers greet him and tease him about things they have hidden or how even some of the guards that are walking through the village seem to be friendly with him as he walks past all of them with a purposeful step, making me wonder where he could be headed.  
Hoping to stay in contact with him long enough to see a point of place I can recognize, do I suddenly feel a large shadow pass over us as I see what looks like a Sphinx, but then with the face of a Raccoon, standing before me, the front paws standing beside me and actually holding a wooden made giant cane between them.  
Then, as if the presence of this stone build beast strengthens the bond between me and Sly do I feel his resolve steel up like never before, do I feel his eyebrows frown down in focused determination and do I hear his voice ring through my mind as the Raccoon that is the father of my child whispers: "Carmelita, here I come."

And with that do I shockingly enough lose the focus I had over our bond, do my legs wobble as I land back on the couch and does my hand finally release its hold over my growing child, my eyes wide as I am both amazed by what I saw and hating myself for not finding what I so desperately wanted to see, a recognition point.  
I see Bentley and Murray look at me curiously, but I shake my head and say: "I saw a village, one where the Coopers were apparently loved and accepted as Sly was able to walk the streets without anyone fearing him. The guards there even greeted him friendly, but he seemed not to care for this fact at all.  
He was walking somewhere, a – a Sphinx, but – but it had the face of a Raccoon and even had a giant wooden made cane held in its front paws. I didn't see anything I could recognize from my leads or the history lessons I had as a kid, but – but I –." And only then do the words my beloved spoke settle within me as I whisper:  
"But I know we're not the only ones trying to bring him back." Bentley and Murray share a shocked and confused look, making me shake my head as I say: "I don't know what the Ringtail is trying, but – but I'm sure he has a plan to get back to us. That giant Raccoon was build in Cooper honor and I'm sure it's his way back here."  
At this the two animals beside me smile widely and I lie myself back against the couch, all my nerves and worries finally at ease and my hand proudly running circles over my pregnant belly as I whisper: "All thanks to you, little one. Thanks to you, we know now that your daddy will be home with us as soon as possible."

* * *

**_And that's it!  
_****_Part #01 of my latest story. Next will be about Sly, what he did in the month his friends were searching for him and what I believe is a good way for Sly to get back to his own time. Part of this was inspired to me by a story called Sly Cooper: Lost In Time, written by M2the2ndpower and I really recommend you read that too.  
_**

**_Enjoy next chapter,_**

**_Venquine1990_**


	2. Sly's Trials

**_Hey everyone,_**

**_Part 02 and like I said, part of this is dedicated to M2the2ndpower and his/her story called Sly Cooper: Lost in Time. I will warn you that not everything constantly makes sense in that story, but hey – he/she knows how to put a story together and even given an amazing explanation as to why we never see Connor Cooper's face._**

**_Go check it out,_**

**_Venquine1990_**

* * *

**_Sly's POV  
_**_**Ancient Egypt**_

I've been in Egypt, in the Past and many parts of the dessert for almost a month now, but while I was able to meet with my Ancestor, Slytunkhamen the First – and actually convince him to start what I know as Cooper History by helping him steal from the Pharaoh – do I know that I am here for only one last purpose.  
Slytunkhamen had been helpful enough to tell me off the Sphinx of Destiny that the villagers of his hometown had made for him when he had left to make name for himself in Upper Town Cairo and while I feel amazed that my family has lived in this small village for over 3 dozen generations, is the Sphinx my only goal.  
Slytunkhamen had explained me all about the Sphinx, how it had been made 19 years ago and how he had visited many times when he believed he needed aid in his attempts to greatness, yet he had also told me how it had tested him when he had believed himself to be in love for the first time and how the Sphinx had proven him wrong.

I had already uncovered thanks to his description of his crush that the person he had believed to be his life partner was not in fact the mother of his Heir and Son and had told him so, Slytunkhamen thanking me as he said that he now felt confident to start what I had told him about; a heritage that lasted 3000 years.  
Slytunkhamen himself had been a little wary to believe that a line of thieves could exist for that long, but my techniques and the few gadgets I had been able to keep after Le Paradox stole my paraglider convinced the ancient Raccoon and after the Heist that we pulled together, did I bid him my farewell and did I continue my journey.  
Slytunkhamen had told me how to reach his native town, yet the journey itself had been a tough one as I had actually spotted signs of Clockwerk, the beast obviously already hating my line and the way he searched the lands with his beaded gaze making me use every technique I knew to evade him in order to keep the timeline right.  
The bird had been a menace to keep away from, yet once I had gotten my first sight of the village where Slytunkhamen grew up, did the sightings of the maniacal monster decrease, making me realize that Clockwerk never tried to find the hometown of my ancestor or that he believed of Slytunkhamen to be born in Cairo.

Either way, I had been reliever to be rid of the pesk, yet his presence had constantly brought back memories of my beloved Carmelita, how we worked together at the Krak-Karov Volcano and in the chopper as we flew over Paris and brought down Clock-La, Carmelita even going so far as to be the one to destroy the Hate chip.  
These memories had made me more and more determined to keep away from the bird and reach the village of my ancestor, yet how amazingly kind and welcome everyone was when I arrived had shocked and pleasantly surprised me and I know I would have lingered with some of them had it not been for my mission.

No, I have been part of this timeline long enough and while it was my destiny to come here in order to make sure the History of the Cooper Line would start to exist, do I now long for everything that is part of my home; the bright lights of the city, the Eifel tower in all its splendor, the simple but casual hide out and – Carmelita.  
If there is one person that has been on my mind more and more since I started my journey to the Sphinx of Destiny it's the vixen that stole my heart on the first time we ever met and the longer I travel, the more my memories of her and our time together – both good and bad – rise to the surface of my inner eye.  
Together with this, do my emotions for her grow with every reoccurring memory and while this had actually started when we were running from the guards after pulling our Master Heist, had Slytunkhamen understood my reasons for looking behind me after I explained him my bond with the Interpol Inspector.  
The Raccoon had told me that I had to go and visit the Sphinx and when I asked him if it could bring me back to my time, had my Ancestor answered: "It took me from my crush only because she was not meant as mine. If this Vixen is to be yours, the Sphinx will unite you once more." And those words had said it all.

Now, I stand before the great beast, the Raccoon's face glaring down at me and obviously challenging my rights to be here, but the wooden cane and the face itself make me know this is where I have to be and with that do I look at the small crawling space I see glittering at the bottom of the chest piece of the statue and say:  
"Carmelita, here I come." And with that, with my cane on my back, my hat firmly atop my head and my gloves tight around my hands and fingers, do I run for the entrance and make a jump, twisting in mid air and linking my own powers with those of the sparkles I see covering the area, allowing me entrance to the crawling hole.  
The sand here makes it hard for me to crawl right and makes me want to pull my shirt off just to get the sand out again, but I know this is but the first test and with the determination to see Carmelita at the other end of this tunnel, do I ignore the uncomfortable crunching feeling of the sand as it grinds against my fur and skin.  
The hole itself isn't as long as I expected and before I know it am I able to stand back up, taking only little time to brush off the most obvious bits of sand and ignoring again the sand that is getting stuck between the tangles underneath my shirt and hat, but then my attention is drawn elsewhere as a booming voice asks:

"Who passes onto holy ground?" At this I grab, twist and sling my cane into my hand before striking the bottom part onto the stone paved ground below me and say in a loud and clear voice: "Sly Cooper, Son of Connor and Jasmine Cooper, born in 1992. I request a test of bond to return my presence to my beloved, Carmelita Montoya Fox."  
And instantly I can feel something, some kind of magic that seems to crawl from every angle of the room, a room that is dark enough I can only feel, but not see and while keeping my stance, do I allow for the magic to test me, knowing it is the only way I can return to not just my beloved, but my friends and my family.

"Sly Cooper, you indeed have great love cherished within your heart and your wish can be fulfilled by the Powers That Are. Yet, you must accept several tests in order to return from whence you came. Do you accept these terms?" The voice booms around me, its power almost overwhelming my eardrums, but I keep strong and answer:  
"Anything to return to where I rightfully belong. My journey here was destiny, but now that my destiny is done, do I desire to return there where I am most wanted." And while amazed that only one month can make me learn to speak this ancient tongue, do I seem to have pleased the powerful voice as he hums and says:

"Test #1 – chose your partner in life." This confuses me and makes me think: "He must have seen in my mind that it's Carmelita I love, so why –." But then the voice answers my unspoken question as three lights light up before me, all of them showing off the same fox in a different stance, with different expressions and different outfits.  
The first is Carmelita as she was when I last saw her during her last mission before she was kidnapped by Le Paradox; in the purple and blue belly dancing outfit that Bentley made for her, with her hands moving across her dancing body as she looks at me with pure desire and delight in her beautiful chocolate brown eyes.  
The second is Carmelita as I have seen her many, many times; with her yellow jacket, blue shirt and pants, her shock pistol aimed at me and her eyes glaring at me with pure anger and annoyance, while deep underneath that – as I look at her closer – I can see hints of confusion, love and respect shine within her brown depths.  
The last is one I have dreamed of my entire life and that I would have made come true had it not been for my itch to steal a few months ago; Carmelita in a beautiful broken white wedding dress, the top part clinging to her curves while the lower end of the bottom flows out, making her legs look stunning as she gazes at me with pure love.

Looking at all three visions of my one true love, do I feel myself vying between the wedding dress and the police uniform, before I shake my head and walk straight for the second vision, the anger and annoyance disappearing from Carmelita's eyes as I near her, yet her entire vision disappearing once I have reached her form.  
This alone annoys me, but then the booming voice says: "You have passed the test. You and your partner know both where you stand and that will settle what you need to accomplish your goal in life." And while the wish to have at least held the fake Carmelita dies within me, do I smirk, ready for the next trial.

"Test #2 – chose a gift." This again makes me raise an eyebrow as I had expected something a little harder, but then four lights shine up ahead of me, the lights small enough I need to walk a little further to see better and all of them lying low on the ground before me, making me bend over to study each of them respectively.  
The first is a simple bracelet that is made of pure gold and has the words _forever more_ carved on the inside of the band, whole there are two pieces of amber on the outside where the O's are written. The second is a beautiful set of transparent diamond ring, choker, bracelet and anklet with the Interpol badge attached to the choker.  
The third is a set of chains that are lying open before me and that have no keyhole on them, meaning that whoever wears them will wear them for life. The last, however, shocks me as it's a picture of me and Carmelita that I have been keeping a close eye on ever since Bentley, Murray and I started our time-travel adventure.  
I look at the gifts one at a time and while the choker makes me desperate to grab that and while the chains are obviously a second symbol of Carmelita marrying me, do I still reach for the picture, the sight of me kissing that shocked and beautiful vixen enough to make a smile of love and pride adorn my face once more.

The picture, like everything else, vanishes from my grasp and the voice sounds again: "You have passed. If you are truly in love, only memories are a worthy gift to celebrate any bond you may share." And while I can't help but think: "Even if that bond was based on lies." Do I not voice this as the voice says:  
"Test #3 – speak your heart." And while confused, do I see a new light shine before me, this one making me see an amazing view of Carmelita, her usual outfit missing and her body instead dressed in a simple blue shirt and jeans while her hair is pulled back in a single ponytail with several hair bands tying it together.  
The Vixen opens her eyes and just by that one glance do I know that this is actually Carmelita, the Carmelita I left in the future and that I am now so desperately trying to get back to. Walking over to her, do I feel beyond blessed by the Powers that are as I can actually grab onto her and as I hold her hands in mine do I whisper:

"I'm coming." Locking my eyes with hers to express everything else that I desperately want to say, but feel that shouldn't be said here as I can almost sense – just through her eyes – how desperate she is to find me and when she seems to realize this, does a small smile and nod make me smile back at her with love and happiness.  
"Test complete. Love needs only the words that those we love want to hear the most." The voice booms as the hands in mine vanish and while finally feeling as if these tests are really as hard as Slytunkhamen warned me they would be and while feeling slightly worried as there are still 9 left, do I steel my resolve.

"Test # 4 – prove your bonds." These words alone worry me and the sight before me scares me enough I almost drop my cane. A path that is carved out of an active Volcano appears before me, the stone bricks of the path breaking apart as the lava splashes against them like the sea does against the shore and the path thins slowly.  
Then, further up ahead, do I see a pair of Gorilla thugs holding Bentley apart from his wheelchair, one of them actually sitting atop of my friend and his shell and the other happily mashing the wheelchair against the side of the crumbling path while the turtle itself seems to desperately reach for his breaking vehicle.  
Further up ahead do I see Murray, but the ever-powerful pink Hippo is actually hung up by his muscular arms with iron chains above an extremely thin bar of wood and under this the lava is slowly raising up, the underside the bar alone already turning black with charred bits and pieces crumbling into the heated magma below it.  
And finally, at the final end of the pathway, do I see something that makes my heart stop as I see a shock-pistol lying on the floor several miles away from a terrified Carmelita Fox, who is surrounded by a crocodile who is clearly hungry and a zebra who is actually unbuckling his leather jeans while slowly approaching the vixen.

Looking at the sight before me, do I steel my nerves and resolves and while getting ready to sprint, do I allow for my gaze to sweep over the entire sight one last time, my mind working in overdrive as I visualize a way I can save all of my friends at the same time and when I have reached back to where I am, do I smirk.  
I burst out into a sprint and race for the gorilla that is busting up Bentley's wheelchair, using my cane and the back of his armor to swing him over my shoulder and straight into his brother. I then whisper my plan into Bentley's ear and the turtle nods, grabbing his pistol from his wheelchair as I turn to Murray and shout:  
"Murray, roll up! Time for an Aboriginal Ball form Attack!" And while the Hippo looks from the thin bar below him to me, do I gaze at him intently, trying not to gaze at Carmelita as I just know I am running on a short time-schedule and when the Hippo sees the determination in my gaze, does he nod and follow orders.

Bentley then aims his gun for the metal slings holding Murray and just when he shoots off one of his instant explosion grenades, do I make another dash for it, reaching my friend just when he is about to land on the bar and using my cane to swing him straight for where the tugs are now only inches away from Carmelita.  
The two get run over by my large friend and I run over to her, snatching her pistol with my cane and wrapping an arm around her as I return it to her, whispering: "You're safe now." Making Carmelita, Murray and Bentley who just flew over with his rocket booster all smile at me before the entire room turns dark.

"Test Complete. You chose not to save one, but to save all. You are worthy of a Family." And while the words warm me from the inside, can I not help but think: "Another test like this and I might just jump into whatever dangerous zone these powers create to test me." Before remembering my goal and steeling my nerves.

"Test #5 – chose a sacrifice." And while these words make me want to hit myself on the head, do I look forward warily, my nerves slightly eased out when I only see three simple beams of light ahead of me, instead of something similar to the last test and I walk over, my eyes widening in pained fear as I realize what I see.  
Bentley and Murray like they were when we defeated Clock-La, with Murray almost on the verge of a mental, emotional breakdown and with his and Bentley's gear taken off. Carmelita on the ground and bleeding from several wounds while behind her an entire stack of treasure is shown to my eyes. My father's cane broken in half.  
Looking at the three things I know I treasure most in life, do I feel tears gathering in my eyes and do I hear myself think: "Damn it, Slytunkhamen, couldn't you have been more specific on how hard this would be?" But then I wipe the gathering tears roughly away and look at the three lit up sights before me once again.  
Looking from the friends that I lost, regained and then lost due to my own decision, only for them to come back to me, to the love of my life that was obviously deadly injured in her effort to protect the amazing treasure behind her, to the cane that is the only thing I have left of my father, do I feel my decision set itself in stone.

I gaze at my friends and loved ones one last time, tears spilling down my cheek in feared pain that the vision of Carmelita before me might not be some kind of test, but then shake my head and with the belief that – in my absence – my friends will protect her, do I walk over to the cane, picking up the pieces and breaking them again.  
"You chose your bride and friends over your past, Sly Cooper?" The voice then booms and I nod as I say: "My past is not something that is proven with artifacts. The bond I have with Bentley and Murray and how they came back to me even after I hurt and abandoned them and the one I have with my love – those are my past, present and future."  
"Test Complete. True bonds shape past, present and future for one and for their families." The voice then says and while pained at what I did, do I still feel a twinge of relief when the sights before me vanish and while feeling my resolve to go through with this crumble just a little more, do I whisper: "Just 7 more to go."

"Test #6 – chose your greatest foe." These words relieve me and I look ahead, already sure of at least one of them that will be there and indeed I get proven correct as I see Panda King, Clockwerk, Rajan, Neyla, Clock-La, the Mask of Dark Earth, General Tsao, Dr. M. Toothpick and Le Paradox appear before my gaze.  
Looking at each of them and knowing that most of them were chosen because of how they threatened and hurt Carmelita, do I already know the answer as this was something I have yet to have been able to let go off and with a steel reserve and determination do I walk over to the white-feathered, black-armored general.  
The general glares at me and I hiss: "It may have been my plan, but you will never make her yours." And with that does a vision of Carmelita, dressed up to represent Jing King appear behind the general before both he, the dressed vixen and all other enemies of mine disappear and the same voice booms: "Test Complete."

At this I sigh in relief, feeling beyond glad that this test was a breather as I now feel my resolve from before strengthen again and hear the voice say: "Test # 7 – Chose a holiday." And these words make me feel confused, amused and relieved at the same time as I look at how the scenes now stretch themselves around me from 3 sides.  
The vision on the left is of me, Bentley and Murray living together in a large and amazingly beautiful castle with the lowest floor visible and showing a really large safe, obviously meant for our stolen goods and treasures, while the three of us are at a balcony at the top floor, on long-stretch chairs, enjoying the sunlight.  
The second is of me and Carmelita, obviously on a tour and exploring several museums and amazing other locations, the vision itself changing from one scene to the next and my eyes constantly switching between the beauty that is my vixen and the amazing artifacts she shows to the me in the vision during the trips.  
The last, shocking and amusingly enough, is of me and Carmelita and isn't some fake vision that could become a reality, but is actually a memory. Me with my hands tied behind my back while one of my hands unlocks the cuffs, Carmelita opposite of me and the both of us laughing as we ride an Interpol Chopper to Headquarters.

The vision itself brings tears of joy to my eyes and while I know just fine that this same event has a darker side to it – Bentley turning crippled and Murray losing his confidence – can I not help but walk over to the vision nonetheless, wishing that I was back on that Chopper, that my beloved and I were back to having such a good time.  
"You know the actions that caused this vision." The voice booms and I nod as I say: "I know, but the first vision didn't show her at all and the second would just make me want to steal whatever we go to visit and I know how much Carmelita hates that. I can't stand either vision, not when I have a sight of her actual happiness before me."  
"Test complete. Memories make the best plans for a holiday." The voice booms as it speaks to me and while I wipe away the tears, can I not help but attempt to reach out to my beloved, to the one I am getting ever closer to and, while wondering if she can even hear me, do I almost soundlessly whisper: "Just a few more, my love."

"Test # 8 – chose a memory you wish to change." And while these words shock me, do I look around at the scenes that show up from the lights that once again come down from whatever holes reopen and close within the back of the sphinx, the scenes themselves proving to me yet again that the upcoming tests will not be easy.  
The first is of me and my team riding away from the Krak-Karov volcano, while I already know that Carmelita is hooked up with her own handcuffs to a single, slightly unstable metal piece of frame that is pretty much one of the only remaining pieces left of what was once the home of one of my very greatest of foes.  
The second is actually from my third caper, skipping my heist against the Claw Gang completely, and shows myself and my friends standing on top of a cliff that overlooks a beautiful view of the Australian Outback, before we hurriedly make our escape as we see Carmelita, lying in the fields, regaining consciousness.  
The final one is of myself, Carmelita and Bentley and is showing the three of us at and near the Opera House, only a few months after our amazing – and slightly catastrophic – fight against Dr. M. to gain possession of the Cooper Vault and shows me winking at Bentley as a sign that my amnesia is no longer a bother to my mind.

Looking at the three scenes and how they – amazingly enough – all represent the three event I have always wanted to change a few days after they occurred, do I work my hardest to make a decision I have yet been able to make since the last of them occurred – which one would have the best impact on my life if I changed it.  
Looking from where I can almost see a fading form of my beloved fox to where I can see her regaining consciousness and looking at the camera we used that night, to where I once again reclaim my focus on the amazingly beautiful vixen before me, do I sigh as I finally realize what my mind has known for months.  
And with that do I jump over all three of the memories, passing all three of them and ending up in a renewed sense of darkness as I say: "My past makes my future. I should not wish to change it for it could have changed the fact that I aided Slytunkhamen in making sure our Line would go down in History. That event should not be changed."  
"Test Complete." The voice booms and I feel relieved, almost feeling the magic taking away the visions behind me, even if I can no longer see them as jumping over them has made my entire surrounding area once again be cloaked in darkness and while awaiting new lights to show me new visions, do I hear the voice boom:

"Test # 9 – Chose your partner's future." This shocks me and I again see Carmelita appear before me, again in several forms and outfits and again with one of them wearing the belly-dancing outfit, another wearing her Interpol Uniform and another wearing an outfit that could have looked amazing on me had I been female.  
Looking from one of the amazing vixens to the next do I whisper to myself: "The Powers that Are have turned nuts." Yet this test is the most easiest I have yet to take and while keeping my eyes away from the enticing sights before me, do I pass all three of the foxes, all of them sharing shocked looks with each other as they see this.  
Yet, once I have passed them, do I glance back at the Interpol dressed Inspector and whisper: "We learned from this. I know you will never change me and you know I would never ask for you to change either." And with that does the vixen smile before her vision vanishes and I am once again cloaked in Darkness.

"Test Complete; those that are loved are allowed lives of their own." To this I think: "Tell me something I don't know already." Before the voice continues and booms: "Test # 10 – prove a talent for your future." Yet this time the entire room stays dark and I feel curious before I realize that the power to shape this room is now mine.  
"Show me Carmelita's penthouse." I say loudly and instantly light shines around me, the light itself bending to form new colors and shapes and actually creating an almost perfect replica of the house I have spent several months in during the last year, were it not for the fact that I can no longer sense the presence of my lovely fox.  
Ignoring this fact for the time being, do I focus on something I have been able to do since Bentley, Murray and I myself have taken residence in our hideout and while pulling an apron from one of the racks in the kitchen, do I activate the stove and pull some ingredients from the fridge, setting them on top of the counter.  
I then start to make several meals that I have always been able to make for the sake of my friends and while taking into account that I only have to feed myself and my beloved instead of my entire team or the constantly changing and expanding team that we had during our travels, do I not let this bother me as I cook.

Then suddenly the voice asks: "Do you consider this a skill?" To which I calmly answer: "Yes, I consider it a skill of high value if you can prove yourself worthy to provide a healthy meal and steady household to those you care for and love and this is something I have done for my friends since leaving the orphanage."  
"The skill is accepted, the Test is Completed." The voice booms and the entire kitchen, my preparations and everything, vanish before my eyes, the darkness almost collapsing onto me as it returns to my sight and making me temporarily feel as if I have gone blind before I again hear the voice come back and say:

"Test #11 – prove your Greatest Wish for the Future." And while this test's name alone makes me groan lowly as there have been hundreds of things I have been wishing to do since realizing I could return to my beloved, but then the thought hits me and I loudly say: "Show me Carmelita in her present time form."  
And again a light shows up in front of me, Carmelita wearing a simple blue shirt and a pair of jeans while the shirt itself – for some reason – seems to fall wider along her frame than any of the other cloths I have ever seen her on, does she still shine with her own kind of radiant beauty as she holds her arms over herself and looks at me.  
The sight of her alone makes a loving smile appear on my face and I walk over, wrapping a single arm gently around her side and feeling a little worried that the vixen might have started eating out of her fear for me as her belly feels larger than ever before, but I ignore this and whisper: "You are my greatest wish, la mia più cara."(1)  
And as the vixen gives me a single happy smile, does she too vanish and do I take a deep breath, the constant reappearing and disappearing visions of my true love taking a toll on how I feel emotionally and I whisper: "Now I get why Slytunkhamen failed this test. True love is the hardest task and still greatest gift of all times."

And while I can almost feel the magic of the sphinx agreeing with my words, do the words that the voice boom next shock the living daylights out of me as it speaks: "Test Complete. Test #12 – chose from whence you came." And the sights that show up before my eyes make me teary eyed and break my heart.  
There are only two sights before me, one of my parents, both of them still alive and with me seated at my father's lap as he has his pipe in his mouth and is sitting there calmly, obviously days before the attack and the other of Bentley, Murray and Carmelita all seated at the hideout, the three of them holding hands in anxiety.  
Looking from the one piece of my past I have always missed out on to the three people that have always been there to alleviate my pain, do I look back at the man that has meant so much for me and who I wish to meet so badly, if only to hear whether or not my actions have done him proud, but then my gaze turns away.

Back to the three people that have come to mean more to me than even my own father, the three people I have come to consider my true family as the years between us progressed and our tasks against enemy forces became harder, tougher and with more and more painful results at the end of every fight and adventure.  
I look at the three of them, how they sit together and how they are all drawing strength from the hold they have on each other's hands, Carmelita's eyes closed shut as if she is trying to focus on something, Murray sometimes rubbing a hand over her back and Bentley showing his support with confident smiles aimed at the two.  
I then look at my dad again, knowing in my heart that this will be the last time I will ever see him again and then – as if the Powers that Are have learned of my decision – do I see the vision change and do I see my father look up from my younger self, before he sends me a proud smile and a single, simple nod of the head.

These two signs make new tears gather in my eyes and while I smile and nod back at the man, do I then turn away from him and my beloved mother one last time as I turn back to the sight that I love the most, my feet walking straight towards it and my heart racing with excitement as the vision doesn't vanish upon me reaching it.  
Instead of that do I almost feel as if some kind of magic is merging my very essence into the room, as if there is a door made of water, thick mist, a bright white light and the purest form of magic through which I am passing and once I have done so, does the sight before me make me run for my actual brothers and beloved partner.

_**Carmelita's POV**_

I don't know how it happened, I don't even really know what happened, but a few minutes ago I felt my little one connect my mind with that of my beloved Ringtail and I received visual proof that he is as much fighting to get back to us as we were trying to find him and bring him home – and now I have my Ringtail in my arms.  
Sly appeared out of nowhere, brought into our lives and back into his original timeline by a wave of power, a strong gust of wind that almost felt damp to the touch and a bright light that made me and my friends let go of each other's hands to cover our eyes with them before suddenly I felt something pull me into a tight hug.  
The feeling of those muscular arms alone had made me realize what had happened and the fading light had proven it as, upon my sight returning, did I indeed see Sly, his arms wrapped around my waist and his face cuddling with my midriff as there was the largest and most loving of smiles adorning his handsome face.

To see and actually feel this evidence that the vision my unborn child had given me was correct had been almost too much for me and now all I can do is pull the Ringtail up from where he hugs my waist and hug his agile frame with all the happiness and love that burst from my heart, my eyes tearing with joy as I feel him against me.  
Sly quickly responds to this change of position, moving himself so that he is stationed between me and Murray and hugging me close to his frame, his hold on me gentle, yet the way his hands and arms encase me proving how deep his love really goes as he whispers: "Non potrò mai lasciare di nuovo, il mio amore." (2)  
And while Italian was never one of my stronger languages, does it take me less than a second to figure out what he called me and I whisper back: "Nunca voy a olvidar de nuevo, mi socio en la vida."(3) Feeling as if I am making a silent promise through those words to the both of us and our new unborn child growing within me.

Then as I think this, do I feel Sly's hand moving over my baby belly and the touch alone makes me giggle as my greatest need to find him was in order to tell him the good news and then Sly shocks me as he whispers: "Did my departure really affect you so badly, my darling?" And when I look up, do I see worry clouding his eyes.  
I look at him confused and then Murray hits himself on the head as he says: "Sly, she hasn't eaten more than usual out of fear for you. This is the whole reason she was so angry with you going behind her back." The Raccoon looks at his partner confused and I realize that he must have never seen a pregnant woman before.  
Trembling with the excitement of the thought that my pregnancy will be the first he will ever get to witness, do I softly grab both sides of Sly's face, his eyes still clouded with his confused worry for me and I slowly – wishing not to startle him – move his face over to where my belly is showing to be slightly protruding from my form.  
Sly's cheeks actually turn red at feeling this and he mutters: "Carm – Carmelita, I –." But I give a soft hushing sound and then smile widely as I feel it only seconds before the gasping Raccoon does; a soft movement of my child as he or she seems to change his or her laid down position within me, part of him/her actually pushing my belly.

Sly's face instantly releases itself from my grasp and he pushes away, my heart skipping a beat in fear before I remember that this is the first pregnancy the Raccoon has ever been part of and I whisper: "That's yours, you know?" The Raccoon looking up at me with eyes that are so wide in shocked disbelief they are almost comical.  
"My – mine – what – what do you mean, _mine_?" The Raccoon asks, his stuttering and loss of composure almost making me laugh before Bentley tells the Ringtail before me: "Don't worry, Sly, we'll help you." The Ringtail looks at his friend and Murray says: "Yeah, we'll be great godparents – if you'll let us, of course."  
And just that one sentence seems to make everything click with the Cooper in front of me as he whispers: "God – godparents. Wait, WHAT?" And he shouts at the end, looking at me with eyes that have never been wider and his whole form tense with shock as his gaze continues to race between my face and my pregnant belly.  
At this I giggle and allow myself to get off of the couch, moving over to where Sly had jumped away and wrapping my arms around his furred neck as I croon: "You are going to make one incredible father, Sly Cooper – as long as you promise never to go behind my back again, that is." I end in a joke making Bentley and Murray laugh.

_**That night**_

Sly had definitely needed some time to get used to the idea that he was going to be a father, yet he had also proven that, once he got over his shock, the news had done nothing to change how he felt about me as he had actually pulled me close, swung me around the room and kissed me full on the lips, his love evident through the entire kiss.  
Now it's nighttime and while Sly had been shocked to hear that I had actually been using his bed every few nights as it made me feel closer to him and had helped me sleep every now and then, had he been amazingly courteous and offered me his bedroom whenever I needed it, telling me how he would take the couch if needed.  
I had declined this and told him I would rather share his bed with him from now on, something that had shocked the Ringtail, but had made him smile and kiss me gently and with caring love afterwards. At this time am I just waiting for Sly to come back from his quick trip to the balcony and while I can see him there, does he not move.

The Raccoon is half-seated onto the railing of his balcony, one leg pulled up to have his arm lean on his knee and the other dangling from the side of the stone wall as the Raccoon's eyes are aimed for the sky and other than his breathing and the way his face sometimes moves from side to side, does the animal look like a statue.  
Wondering what could be keeping the handsome creature from sharing a bed with his beloved and future child, do I suddenly feel fear over him having possible trauma's that he could have come to experience during his time in Ancient Egypt and instantly upon this realization, do I dash out of the bed and over to him.  
In my haste, do I only semi-consciously remember to pull one of my own bathrobes from a side hook pushed into one of the walls of the bedroom and while tying the robe closed with a knot, do I slowly walk onto the balcony and over to where the Raccoon now seems to be admiring the northern skies above him.

"Sly?" I ask softly, the Ringtail only humming as he turns to me and I ask: "Did – did something happen? In – In Egypt, I mean?" This makes the Ringtail look at me shocked and he asks: "How did you know where I was?" To which I again lie a happy hand on my grown belly and whisper: "Our child showed me."  
The Raccoon looks down at my belly and I say: "I was doing some exercises because I feared the repercussions would Interpol find out about my pregnancy and Murray had activated one of your more gentle Hazard Room exercises for me when I suddenly saw a vision of you – the vision only lasting a minute.  
This happened while I had my hand on my stomach and it instantly alerted Murray, who took me to Bentley and explained everything. When Bentley realized that it was our child, did I try and focus on the bond that created him or her and that allowed me to see through your eyes – just as you were about to enter that strange sphinx."

During the whole tale does Sly look at me with shocked admiration before he looks down at where my hand is covering my baby bump and he asks: "He – or, or she – showed you where I was?" I nod and smile, moving closer to where he's seated and wrapping an arm around his neck as I say: "Our little one knew daddy was coming.  
He or she knew and wanted to let mummy know as well." At this a loving smile adorns the Ringtail's face before he turns back to watching the simple, unlit houses on the other side of the street and while feeling content to be in his presence and enjoy it once again, do I follow his example, seating myself alongside him.  
Sly moves his seating position to having his left leg now standing on the floor of the balcony and having his right wrapped loosely around my lower waist and while his arms wrap themselves around my grown belly, do his hands softly start to rub circles and other patterns over my stomach, actually unraveling some of my nerves.  
I sigh softly in delight at hearing this and whisper: "I didn't even know my muscles were so tense down there." Making Sly smile at me before he whispers: "Carmelita, you – you're real, right?" Making me look at him strangely as he gently tries to pull me closer, a desire to have me near him shining in his eyes.

"When – when I entered the Sphinx, it was because – because Slytunkhamen told me how the Sphinx and its powers would be able to get me back here. But – but to have that be done, did I first have to allow the Sphinx to test me on my worth as a Cooper and the strength of my feelings in regards to the bond I share with you.  
The – the magic of the Sphinx, it – it constantly showed me visions of you in all kinds of situations and tests and – and to constantly see your beautiful form appear and – and then vanish once I passed another test – it –." By now I understand why Sly asked me his question and I lie one of my hands against his cheek.  
Moving his face upwards from the fearful, downtrodden position it was hanging in, do I kiss his lips gently and with great love before I whisper: "This is real, Sly, very, very much so." And these words seem to relax the last of the Ringtail's nerves, making him smile at me with a love I had never expected to see from him.

I then stand up again and take his hand, leading him back to our bed and happily snuggling up close to him once we're both laid down. Sly complies with this with a happy hum and with his arms wrapped warmly around my waist, one of his legs entwined with my own, before I decide to drop one last bombshell on him and whisper:  
"I resigned." Sly's arms tense around me and I continue: "Without you there and – and with Barkley up to his old tricks of taking credit of my arrests again and – and with all those – those hormonal jerks thinking they could touch me wherever they wanted and break me however they saw fit – I – I just had to get out of there."  
By now Sly's face is a mask of concerned worries and I whisper: "It's the whole reason I was always chasing you, the whole reason I lied and said you were my partner, the – the whole reason I was so determined to have and keep your case in my hands no matter what. It – you – you helped me where Barkley didn't want me to be helped."

The Raccoon pulls me closer, obviously sensing how it pains me to again have to admit all of this and I whisper: "Remember our Interpol Annual Photo Day a few months into the whole amnesia thing?" Sly cringes, but nods and says: "I was placed somewhere near the bottom because I was a newby on the force or so they said."  
I nod and whisper: "I was put in the same spot as they always put me in; bottom left." This shocks Sly and he says: "But you caught the Fiendish Five, the Claw Gang, showed the Contessa and Neyla's true colors, arrested a freak that tried blowing up Venice, got both Le Paradox and all of his henchmen behind bars."  
At this I smile, touched by how proud and sincere Sly sounds as he names all of the criminals I know he helped me catch and I say: "And those were all arrests that Barkley took credit for. And because he was my superior, was I just to accept it and keep up with your case. But – but we females aren't judged on our tasks for Photo Day."

"You're not?" Sly asks and I shake my head as I say: "We're based on our looks and – and whoever is put bottom left gets a special saying attached to their name." by now Sly is both worried and trembling with a rage I'm sure even he doesn't understand just yet as I whisper: "_Bottom left girl is fun girl_."  
And unlike Bentley and Murray does Sly seem to instantly understand what this term means as his arms wrap themselves around me with a fury that would have scared me had it not been for the way they – at the same time – seem to tense with a need not to squish me too hard, making me know Sly is still holding back.

"How long?" Sly then asks, his voice only barely even a whisper and I mutter back: "Every year since my promotion." Making a new wave of intense fury rage through Sly's tensing muscles before he suddenly jumps out of bed and whispers: "I need to see the Hazard Room." Before he storms out of the room in a rage.  
Hating how I angered my beloved on the first day of his return, do I again put on the robe I had pulled off after returning to bed and walk over to the Hazard Room myself, making sure to be a little bit behind Sly and being amazed when I see that the Raccoon has set up a challenge that makes mine look like a baby cradle.  
The Ringtail is going through the entire challenge like a madman on steroids and while leaning against one of the walls with my arms wrapped around my pregnant stomach, do the shouts of rage and fury that escape the Raccoon's throat as he tears through the challenge actually make me feel warm and loved.

Then Bentley rolls in, wiping some sleep from one of his eyes and asks: "Carmelita, what – what's going on?" He yawns halfway through and while feeling a tingling sense of comfort flow through me as I hear Sly shout in a need for vengeance, waking Bentley abruptly, do I answer: "I told Sly my reason for resigning."  
The turtle cringes at this and says: "I better pull out some training dummies then or I won't have a Hazard Room left come morning." This makes me giggle as Bentley leaves for the room that I am actually leaning under and after Sly actually tears a good 62 Training Dummies to smithereens, does he seem to have calmed down.  
His fur is a complete mess and most of his night shirt is in raffles, while his cane seems to constantly slip from his sweaty fingers and while his back is hunched and his legs are trembling in an effort to keep standing, can I almost tell that Sly no longer fears hurting me in his anger and do I lovingly approach him.  
Sly looks at me as I do, his eyes searching mine with a request I can't quite understand, but when I reach him, do I again encase his furry cheeks in my hands and kiss his lips, Sly instantly responding by pulling me as close as my growing belly allows, his arms wet with sweat, but still feeling like cage bars of loving warm metal.  
Then, when oxygen becomes a must and Sly parts his lips from mine, does he whisper: "Mine – right?" He hesitates at the end and finally do I understand his issue; Sly wanted to claim me, but feared that I would consider this a slight against my pride and honor and with happiness soaring through me, do I whisper: "Yours."

* * *

(1) la mia più cara is Italian for My Dearest  
(2) Non potrò mai lasciare di nuovo, il mio amore is Italian for I Will Never Leave Again, my love  
(3) Nunca voy a olvidar de nuevo, mi socio en la vida is Spanish for I Will never forget again, my partner in life  
**_Two chapters done, one left to go._**


	3. Epilogue

_**Here it is, gang!  
The last chapter of my story and while most of it will be made out of memories of things that occurred in the eight years between this chapter and the last, do I still think that the chapter is made gold. I do want to warn everyone that there are a few things that might not add up in real life, but let's face it, this isn't real life, this is fanfiction.**__**Hope you enjoy,**_

_**Venquine1990**_

* * *

_**8 years later  
**__**Collin Cooper's POV**_

My name is Collin Carter Cooper. I am the 8 year old son of Sly Cooper and Carmelita Montoya Cooper-Fox. My parents may not have always seen eye to eye at the start, but I can't imagine anyone more perfect for each other than them and many new people who meet us always ask how they didn't get together after their 1st meeting.  
My dad always laughs and jokes about this, to the slight humiliation of my mum, but my mum knows my dad means nothing harmful with his jokes and she still loves him, regardless of the fact that she was once the officer in charge of bringing him and his entire gang – my uncles and godfather Bentley – to justice.  
Still, my mum's job as Interpol officer was eight years ago and since then has she – with help of my dad's gang – brought Interpol down and made it nothing more than the Administration office of the French Police force. No, the real crime catchers of the world are the actual Cooper Gang itself and that is a force I am proud to be related to.

My dad's line is actually existent of an amazingly long line of Master Thieves; people that steal from other criminals, but after my dad heard what Interpol had been doing to my mum did he swear to bring Interpol down and with all the ways he and the gang made Interpol look like they owed to the Cooper Gang, did that work perfectly.  
Perfectly well enough even, that the powerhouses of justice from other countries such as the C.I.A., the F.B.I. and the United Nations asked if they could make being a Master Thief be an official profession under their league and while dad asked to be allowed to keep his stolen treasure, was he only too happy to settle the deal.  
The others in the gang had apparently been shocked that such a deal had been made, but dad had convinced them, saying it was an amazing way to ensure that the Cooper line and their family business couldn't go extinct as many of his enemies had apparently tried to cause in the years before my birth.

Oh yes, I know all about Clockwerk, the Claw Gang, Octavio, the Mask of Dark Earth, General Tsao, Dr. M, Le Paradox and his little henchmen, mum and dad made sure to tell me all about that once I started becoming old enough to learn about my family's history and while some stories caused nightmares, were they always there for me.  
Dad didn't really stop being a Master Thief after I was born, but he did constantly make sure that if he was leading a Heist, mum was there to care for me and if mum was leading a Heist, he was there to care for me in her stead. This way I never missed out on a parent and my parents never missed out on any excitement in their life.

Yet, this is not why I am currently writing in the Thievius Raccoonus, the ancient book that my Ancestors had created together to store and preserve the knowledge of their life and deeds. It's because my dad actually thinks me old enough to start my training as the next Cooper to take on the Family Business.  
Why do I sound so surprised? Because in all the years that dad told me stories and shared memories with his friends, he never allowed me to try out the techniques he told me off and even if I convinced him to show me, did he always make sure he was far enough away from me that I couldn't get hurt, regardless of his expertise.  
Yeah, my dad is a real protective weirdo, being both a father and a Master Thief, but I can't really say I blame him as dad did tell me all about his own youth and how he had been attacked by the Fiendish Five when he was the age I am now, losing his own parents and actually getting frightened by the gang as they stole our Family Manuel.  
Still, to know that after the last few years that I have waited for this, my dad is finally going to teach me everything I have wanted to learn since I first went to school is something that really, really excites me, even if I already know for sure that my dad is going to put all kinds of protective gear and equipment in place before training me.

The thought of this is kind of embarrassing, but the memory of how he came to Parental Career day a few years ago is definitely one of my fonder ones and one I asked dad to record in the Thievius Raccoonus as soon as I came home. That had been 2 years ago, when I was six years old and was learning Third Grade material.  
My dad had invited his whole team over for Career Day and my godfather, Uncle Bentley, had actually taken a portable Hazard Room with multiple challenges installed with him to stall out in the gym room of our school, all of my classmates in awe as they saw my father at work with his partners in crime, literally.  
Dad had made it even better by having his entire team dressed in their old Uniforms and by having my mum join along to show off what techniques he was using to get through the Hazard Room, my mum having taken pictures from the Thievius Raccoonus that she enlarged with help of a beamer aimed for the back wall.

All in all had my dad and his friends amazed and inspired almost my entire class and had my Uncle King actually closed off Career Day with a dazzling show of his finest fireworks, making a good three quarter of my class ask them if they could go to a school for Master Thieves when they grew up and where they could learn such moves.  
My dad had been a little overwhelmed with the fact that so many of my fellow year mates had wanted to join in the business and I know he had broken more than one heart when he said that it was a family business, before my mum had saved us all by saying that there were many other careers that required similar skills.  
Mum had been proven right thanks to Bentley, who had used his amazing board computer to list several jobs that required either stealth, agile muscles, a good body weight, a strong mind, a craft in fireworks, ancient and primitive languages, respect for nature or an agile control of body movements while in the water.

Still, there is one other thing that actually came off well thanks to my dad coming in for Career day; two of my classmates asking me if they could join me once I took over the Family Business. One of them is Amanda Clessworth and she is the most agile, powerful albino leopard I have ever been allowed to lay eyes on.  
Amanda actually comes from a very wealthy family of leopards that have been making millions in gem collecting and creating sanctuaries for endangered species to live in for the last 15 generations, yet the leopard is also diagnosed with ADD and is therefore to hyperactive to sit still as she searches for gems or converses with high officials.  
Her parents had been very worried about this and had considered giving her special medication, but once we had met and hit it off, had they felt that stealing stolen treasures was just another way of collecting priceless artifacts and had they become like a surrogate mum and dad for me, allowing my parents a special little benefit.  
Sure, there had been a few times over the years where either Uncle Bentley, Murray, King, Dimitri of Guru had watched me instead of my parents, yet dad had always been very, very happy to see us both and once I had become friends with Amanda, had it allowed for my dad to take his entire team on Heists again, just like old times.

My parents had been very happy with this, the whole team had been, but it had been a few weeks later that my team had expended, again without my parents knowing. This time it was a guy named John Le Paradox and he was actually a second cousin of the man who had almost made sure I never got to know my father in the first place.  
My dad had not been happy to hear that I was in the same class as someone related to Mr. Cyrille Le Paradox, but John had actually used ancient rites and sworn an vow of Fealty to my dad's line, shocking my parents and setting at ease any and all worries my dad may have had over my safety in regards to the animal.  
The most shocking of it all? John isn't even a Skunk. His Uncle might be, but John is badger with a stripe running down his forehead instead of his tail and while his species had made my mum uncomfortable, due to personal issues she was still dealing with, had John's intelligent care settled her last nerves and traumas.  
John is definitely intelligent and the amounts of times where he would come over to our family home and hideout can only be compared with the amounts of times where his own family would have to pluck him out of my uncle Bentley's lab, the two of them laughing and talking about things that made even my dad reel with confusion.

Yeah, I found my team and I just know that, once I tell my dad about this, he will be over the moon as Amanda and John have really grown onto the both of them with great love and over the last year have I heard them both call my friends their surrogate kids more than once, making all three of us beam at hearing those words.  
Still, there is definitely something wrong with my mum as, over the last five months, she has been denying herself any chances to pull a heist with my dad, even a few weeks ago when I offered to go out and sleep over at Amanda's for a full week. Dad had planned a really big heist that week and I had thought he wanted mum to come along.  
Yet, both of them had declined on this and mum had been strangely busy in one of the empty rooms that – until months before my birth – had actually been the bedroom to an ex-Cooper Gang member named Penelope, a mouse I had heard many tales about, but that I never got to meet due to the severity of her crimes.  
The mouse had never actually been caught or arrested for her crimes other than the time where she broke out only days after her arrest, yet neither of my parents had ever felt the need to hunt her down either, telling me constantly that – with me in their lives – they had already won their fight against her, whatever that meant.

By now I am ready. Ready to tell my parents about my team and ready to find out why my mum has been so busy on a room that hasn't been touched in almost a decade. But next to that, do I also really want to talk with my dad as there is something about Amanda – other than her speed and power – that draws me to her.  
I really can't put my finger on it and it confuses me greatly, but being around the leopard is almost as fun and comfortingly enjoyable as being in my mum's arms or having my dad seat me on his lap and tell me stories about his youth. And still, at the same time, do the feelings Amanda bring up in me just not feel the same as when that happens.  
I shake my head, knowing I need to focus as my dad can come home from his latest caper in Capri, Italy and after I make sure that the ink of my writing has dried up, do I close my section of the Thievius Raccoonus, having written all of my thoughts of the last few days in it and putting it back in the protective force field.

Then, just when I have closed and locked the door and reactivated the security system around the room, do I hear a window open in the upper floor, where my dad's room is actually located and with a happy smile do I run for the room, dad having already stashed away his pile of loot by the time I run into his arms.  
Dad laughs hard as he catches me and asks: "Hey there little Coon, have you been good for your mum?" To which a warm voice answers before I can and says: "Of course, Collin is always good for his mum, especially when he knows she misses his dad terribly." And at this I nod as I had tried my best to distract mum this last week.  
Dad walks over to mum with me still held in one of his arms and kisses her full on the lips, something I find both slightly repulsive and very much romantic and he whispers: "I was fine, love. Worried sick about you and whether or not you would be, but otherwise perfectly fine. Didn't run into Mugshot or any of his goons even once."  
At this mum sighs, while I just can't understand why dad would think anything could happen to mum while she was here and he was on a caper and I ask: "Okay, what's going on? Why is dad worried about mum when mum was here working on that abandoned room the entire week? And why won't mum join dad on capers anymore?"

Mum and dad look at me shocked as I glare at them, having had enough of all their mysterious one on one hinting and sweet talk and then the two look at each other and turn red as mum whispers: "We should have known he would ask. I mean, he was only two when Jeanie was born. He would have been too young to remember that."  
This confuses me greatly and I ask: "What does Jeanie have to do with any of this?" To which Dad pulls me a little closer, wrapping the arm he previously had around mum back around my waist as he says: "Well sport, the reason your mum is missing out on capers and messing around in that room is – because you will be a big brother soon."  
And with those words do I suddenly realize that my mum has been behaving weirdly with more things than just her missing out on capers and her messing around in the abandoned room as her appetite has been changing more and more these last few months and with shock do I ask my dad: "Is – is mum – is she – pregnant?"

The man nods with a huge smile on his face and mum says: "We kind of figured you would realize it on your own, but I guess we were being a little too vague about it, especially with how much you have been preparing for your own initiation into the Cooper Family Business and inheriting the Thievius Raccoonus."  
And with those words do I remember my actual reasons for wanting to meet with dad and I say: "I almost forgot! I have a surprise too, dad!" The man looks happily intrigued and mum distracts me as she asks: "You don't mind it, do you sweetie? Becoming an older brother and all?" To this I look at her and shout:  
"Of course not! Anyone who knows you two knows how hard you've been trying! I'd love to be an older brother! Do you know the gender yet? Is it wrong of me to want a little sister?" At this mum turns a little red and dad laughs as he says: "It's not wrong at all, kiddo, we're kind of hoping for a girl ourselves."

And because I know all about how rare Female Coopers are thanks to reading the Thievius Raccoonus for the last three weeks, do I smile and hug my dad happily around the neck, before he seats himself and me in his favorite chair in the hideout and after pulling apart a little, does he ask: "So, what's the surprise, my big man?"  
And while trembling in excitement over this latest news, do I almost shout: "I have a team!" Shocking both my parents before I continue and say: "John and Amanda! They agreed years ago! Back when we first met! They really want to come over when you start teaching me dad and they really want to learn from Uncle Bentley and Murray."  
By now my mum has her hands covering her mouth while the smile on my dad's face just seems to keep growing the more I speak and the man hugs me so tightly I almost lose all the air in my lunges as he says: "You take after your old man, son. Friends that become team members as you grow up! You are so much like me."  
"So they're allowed? You'll – you'll ask Uncle Bentley and Murray to teach them?" I ask in excitement and my dad nods with a huge smile adorning his muzzle as he says: "They will be honored. I'm sure of it." At this I feel like cheering all over again, before I decide to address my last little issue and ask:

"Can I – can I ask you something?" The two nod, mum now holding one hand over her stomach which I suddenly realize I have been seeing her do a lot the last few months, and I turn to my dad as I ask: "How old were you when you met mum again?" The man looks confused and turns to mum as he hesitantly says:  
"Sixteen, I think? Two years before we took the Five down, right?" The Fox besides us nods and I ask: "And you knew instantly that she was the one?" Now dad smiles a wide, goofy grin, one he often has when thinking back on his times with mum and he says: "Absolutely, from the very first minute that I laid my eyes on her."  
Mum smiles that same smile back at him and I ask: "How did you feel that? I mean, was there anything you recognized about your feeling for her that helped you know or – or what?" My parents now look confused and concerned and mum asks: "Why all these sudden questions about our first meeting, dear?"

But dad seems to have figured it out and says: "Just a minute, Carm, be right back." And while he seats me in his chair does he leave for downstairs, returning minutes later with the Thievius Raccoonus in hand. Mum looks confused, while I look at it in shocked awe and dad takes me back on his lap as he opens it.  
The man pages through the book, apparently already knowing what page he is looking for, which is quite amazing as the book is over 12.000 pages thick and then he seems to find his required bit of info, his eyes scanning the page with lightning speed before they widen and he whispers: "Well, what do you know."  
Making both of us look at him before he turns to me and asks: "It's Amanda, isn't it?" And while amazed that my dad figured this out so quickly, can I not help my cheeks from burning with embarrassment as mum asks: "What about Amanda?" And while a prideful grin grows on my dad's face, does he read

_**Jeckerby Andreas Cooper, son of Landorus and Azalea Cooper, was found to have met his destined Cooper Lady at the tender age of 9 years old and while still confused over his own emotions and while they felt both similar to his feelings for his mum and dad and different at the same time, did he still pursue Crescent Anderough for years on end.  
**__**However, while both were confused for different reasons, did the pursuing of Jeckerby for Crescent's heart lead to a happy and long-lived life of true devotion and utmost loyalty as both of their feelings were actually based on the friendship they had formed in the three years before Jeckerby first fell for Crescent.**_

At this my eyes widen and dad says: "There are a few others like this, but the base of it all means that it's not uncommon for Coopers to fall for their destined partner long before their hormones allow them to understand the difference between family love and true love. And in all of the cases do the early feelings lead to a happy life together."  
At this mum again has her hands over her muzzle and dad happily slaps me on the shoulder as he says: "You're proving yourself a true Cooper every day, aren't you sonny?" And while I turn red at the idea of spending my life on Amanda's side, do I still feel that it really was destiny that my dad came for Career day – as it made me meet her.

* * *

_**Damned what an ending!  
**__**Just to let you know I wasn't really planning on making such a bond happen so soon, I just wanted to put some emphasis on how strong the Cooper Line runs in combination with their bonds to those that help them keep the line alive; their partners and spouses. I also made Collin a little intelligent, but with his parents, can you blame me?  
**__**Anyway, I just want to warn you all that I have my highest hopes for Plans #6, 7 &amp; 8, but if I do start with Plan #6, will this mean that most – if not all – of my other stories will be on temporary Hiatus. I still have some work for Keyblade's Light, but the words just won't come anymore, so I have to let that rest for now.  
**__**Hope you understand,**_

_**Venquine1990  
PS. Jeanie is the daughter of Jing King and Murray, but she doesn't really play a large role here, I just wanted to use a Gang member's child as an example to fit into the conversation. As for Jing King, she married Murray at the end of the same year that Sly married Carmelita. She came to Sly's wedding, fell for Murray and Panda King blessed the bond, allowing them to marry. Bentley never married, but he did go through a Blood-transfusion surgery with Sly that made him an official member of the Cooper family.  
PPS. For those wondering why I chose a Leopard and a Badger to be the new Murray and Bentley; WHY NOT? As for Carmelita's trauma's Sly never allowed her near Barkley while he took down Interpol, so she never got the chance to have inner peace until meeting with John and realizing how easy he was to trust and care for.  
**_


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